My name is Bob Taylor and I am husband, father and full time technology manager for a Fortune 20 company. I'm also a health and fitness enthusiast. I am using this page as a blog to share about my running adventures and hopefully inspire others to get fit, stay fit and use their fitness to have fun. This is also a way for me to stay motivated on my own journey. Here is my story..... Why 50 by 50?

It all started when I turned 49 years old in November 2012. I was in the worse health of my life – nearly 270 pounds, 50 inches waist, taking 2 medications for high blood pressure, taking 2 medications for high cholesterol, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, using a CPAP machine for sleep apnea and, by my doctor’s account, on my way to being a type 2 diabetic. My poor health was making me unhappy with my life which led to me not being the person, husband, father or coworker I wanted to be. I finally decided I had to make a change….I committed to myself I was going to lose 50 pounds before I turned 50 years old. I called this my 50by50 Fitness Journey. On January 1, 2013 I weighed myself, measured myself and photographed myself so I would know where I started…..and then I just pushed play on the DVD player and started my journey. The video below chronicles the results in these early days.

By the time I turned 50 in 2013 I had completed P90X and I had lost nearly 80 pounds – surpassing my goal. And by the end of March 2014 I had also completed P90X3, I had started running and I had lost nearly 100 pounds, 16 inches off my waist and lowered my body fat from over 36% to less than 15%. I no longer needed medication to control my cholesterol or high blood pressure. My insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome were gone and I was no longer at risk of becoming a diabetic. And finally, my sleep apnea was cured…I no longer needed a CPAP machine to get a good night’s sleep. All these physical changes in my body were also changing me emotionally. I started developing a positive outlook on life and enjoying life. I was becoming a different person

As this transformation significantly improved not only my health but my entire my life, I felt compelled – even obligated – to share my story to inspire others and to try to teach others what I had learned along the way. I began to notice there were people all around me who needed help, people I loved and cared about, and I knew I could help them. What I found out was that as I shared my story with others – with the fitness community, with other organization, with my co-workers, with my friends – they were inspired by my accomplishments and wanted to know more about how I was able to achieve these results. I spent several years helping others get started on their own journey.

Since those early days when I set that first goal...to lose 50 pounds...I have continued on my journey by continuing to set and achieve fitness goals. I stated running and ran my first half marathon in 2014 and my first marathon in 2015. Since then I have continued running and have ran 8 marathons, two 50K race and three 50 mile ultramarathons. In 2016 I started doing triathlons and I have completed a sprint, olympic, two half IRONMAN triathlons and in 2017 I completed IRONMAN Texas 140.6. Its been a great journey so far...and its not over. My focus now is trail running and I plan to train to run Rim to Rim to Rim across the Grand Canyon and back in October 2018. More important than any accomplishment or race I have completed and by far the best result of improving my health and transforming my body is that I am now able to leverage my new level of fitness and health to do the things I want to do to live a happy life….and this is what I hope to inspire others to do with this page. I feel better, feel better about myself and can do the things I want to….and my journey and adventures are continuing today. I hope you enjoy reading about these adventures on this blog page and are inspired to get fit, stay fit and use your fitness to have fun! Hope to see you on the trails.